A Series of Improbable Events 2: Something Very Stupid
by ErykahMiszti
Summary: Josh and Donna are both at a loose end in their lives and not sure what they want to do next. Things change.


It started with the dinosaurs.

Everyone who knew her knew that Donna wouldn't be content to be a stay-at-home mom forever. Not that she wasn't good at it. Years spent organising Josh, then spin for a Presidential campaign, then 5 years as Chief of Staff to the First Lady just meant that bringing up two kids wasn't the hardest job she'd ever taken on. Doing it whilst also taking a degree in Political Science and Economics did add a bit more spice. Being mommy was rewarding in so many ways that she'd never expected but, especially now they were starting school, she was feeling an itch to do… something.

She'd always made it clear that stepping back for a while really did mean just for a while. When she gave up her job as the First Lady's Chief of Staff - already pregnant with her second child - she insisted that she just wanted a few years to be a real mom and give her kids a solid, stable start to their lives. Heaven knew that they weren't ever going to be normal kids, not given who their parents were, but she was determined to give it a go with as much normality as she could.

And it's not like she was alone in that. Josh was just as determined to bring their kids up in a world of love, with both parents there for, if not every step, then, at least, most of them. His job wasn't great for bringing the normal in the first few years of their lives. He was still too involved with running the Santos administration and all the crises that just refused to keep to regular office hours, but no one, not even his enemies, would dare to call him an absentee father.

Things changed, of course, when the Democrats lost the election. Baker tried his best but he just wasn't persuasive enough at the top of the Ticket and this time there had been no challengers good enough to knock him off from getting the nomination. Josh had looked, and ended up disappointed. The country's political winds had changed and no one appeared capable of fighting them. He had helped where he could with the campaign but it wasn't whole heartedly, so he'd stayed in the White House to see the administration through to the end and handed it off - bristling all the while - to the Republican who was taking his place.

Just like that, he was at a loose end. There were many jobs offers but, with his disillusionment at the state of his party, he wasn't sure which direction he wanted to go now. He took a book deal to give him a chance to be with his wife and kids. He made being home with them his priority for a while.

So it happened that they both reached a moment when their lives were poised to change but neither of them knew exactly what that change was going to be. For now, they didn't much care. They were happy.

Then came the dinosaurs.

Donna had been active in the PTA from the first day - there was no way she wasn't going to be - but the day she found her eldest son packing his toy dinosaurs away, crying, because his teacher had told him that dinosaurs weren't real was the day she stepped back up.

"Can you believe this?!" Donna was pacing, getting more annoyed with every step. "During a lesson… she was proselytising to a six year old!"

Josh wrapped his arms around her. He was just as annoyed as she was but the need to comfort her took precedence.

"I'm going to get her fired." Donna determinedly said as she wrapped her arms around him too.

"Good." He replied. Feisty Donna, his favourite turn on.

A few days later and Donna was back on TV in her own right, for the first time in 4 years, talking about the dangers of religion pushing out science in schools.

In the weeks that followed, Josh sat in his study in their home and focused on writing the book he'd already taken a healthy advance for. He had, until recently, been dragging his heels but then, until a few weeks ago, Donna had been at home with him during the days (the kids being at school). He couldn't think of a more perfect distraction from writing about politics than afternoons spent in bed with the woman he loved. It felt as though the universe was giving them the time they'd missed getting to just be together. Although, some of that perfection was discussing politics with her. They'd spent so many of their years talking to each other, instead of acting on their feelings, that talking was a big part of the thrill of being together. It was possible that they'd elevated talking politics into a strangely satisfying sexual kink of their relationship.

Not that the sex was disappointing in comparison. Even after eight years of marriage… anything but.

Josh leant back in his chair with his feet on the desk and stared at the ceiling for a long moment, wishing she was here to distract him some more.

Donna, meanwhile, was attending a public meeting. She came home talking about running for the school governance council. He was thrilled and they celebrated in their now usual way. Horizontally, followed by holding each other and talking, and talking, and talking till one of them finally admitted defeat by falling asleep. They discussed honestly how he shouldn't be too involved, publicly at least.

She won by a landslide. He loved her for it, of course, and duly kept his public distance.

Over the next two years, he found himself enjoying being a stay-at-home dad – making lunches, picking the kids up from school, memorably costume making for a school play (never again) - as she became more and more involved in local politics.

It wasn't that he was bored. He just was starting to feel left on the margins of the world. He'd been backing the underdog at times, but it had been a long time since he wasn't at the heart of things.

Donna wasn't neglecting him. It wasn't her fault. He wasn't lonely. The nights she stayed out weren't late ones but his feisty Donna coming home was always the best part of the day.

He wasn't always at home himself. He was still a grandee of the Democratic Party. There were constant invites to meetings all over the country. Some he went to and some he Skyped. He was busy.

They both still went to Washington for fundraisers and dinners and balls, and to see Toby and Lou. They went to Manchester to see Abbey. To Houston to see Matt and Helen. To LA to see Sam and CJ and Danny.

It wasn't that he was bored. He just still wasn't sure what to do next. He was sure that he had one last fight in him, but which one. Where to start. That was the question that played in his mind during those hours, in the middle of the day, alone in his study.

Josh nursed a whiskey in the hotel bar in Washington. He'd been in meetings all day talking about some intricate minutiae of various bills. It was fun - he'd always loved it - but it was tiring, especially when Donna wasn't here to say something that started out random but somehow turned the issues and put it all in perspective. He turned his neck through a few angles to work out the kinks of the day.

"Josh?" A familiar voice asked from behind him and he turned to see Congressman Will Bailey standing there. "I didn't know you were in town."

"I didn't know myself till last minute." He replied.

They gripped hands firmly in greeting and Josh gestured at the empty seat next to him.

"Do you have time for a drink?" He asked.

"Yeah." Will smiled and sat down.

A few drinks later,

"I'm really glad I ran into you actually. Have you heard the news about your Congressman?" Will asked.

"Flynn..? What's the old curmudgeon done this time?" Josh smiled but it faded quickly at the look on Will's face.

"He died this morning." Will said simply.

"Heart attack?" Josh asked. The man was old.

Will nodded. They both took a drink.

He left a suitable but short pause before continuing.

"It does mean there's going to be an election." He paused again. "Near you, quite soon."

Josh sat up straighter as he caught the gist of what Will was saying.

"Tempting?" Will asked with a wry smile.

Josh sank down into his chair again and smiled too.

"One last fight…" He mused, thinking about it.

"Or, maybe, a stepping stone to something else." Will added.

Josh took a drink. Ideas were already starting to come together in his head.

"I've not been very involved with the local party." Was all he said out loud.

"Yeah, but, still, you as their candidate…" Will said. "You live there, and you're Josh Lyman." He laughed. "Name me a better candidate than that!"

"Josh..?" Donna began slightly tentatively. "How would you feel about me running for Congress?"

He turned to look at her, stunned at her having taken the words out of his mouth.

"What?" He asked, confused.

They were lying in bed, having celebrated his return from Washington. He'd not said anything about his conversation with Will yet, but he'd planned to. Afterwards. You know, afterwards.

"You must have heard that Flynn died yesterday." She said and he nodded, sitting up a little.

"Yeah." He said. His mouth suddenly felt very dry.

"Some folks, well, they've suggested I run… for Congress!" She laughed and smiled. He just stared at her. Her smile fell. "Are you okay, Joshua?"

"Yeah." He said again, standing up. His mind was racing. He quickly pulled on his boxers and a t-shirt and rubbed at his dry mouth. He looked back at her. She was sat there with the sheet held up to her chest, watching at him with growing concern. Unusually, he was having a hard time looking at her. "Just need some… water." He took his glass from the nightstand and went to the bathroom.

There he rested his head on the mirror and tried to calm his thoughts. They'd asked Donna to run. The local party wanted Donna. Everything whirled around him.

"Josh?" She stood in the doorway, with the sheet wrapped around her. "Say something. Talk to me."

He closed his eyes, but didn't move.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" He asked finally, wincing even as he said it.

"Why wouldn't it be?" She asked flatly, her laughter most definitely gone.

"Oh," He played for time before standing up and facing her. "Well, you've haven't got that much experience…"

Her laugh now had a bitter edge.

"I haven't?" She asked.

"I mean, yeah, you do, in politics, in general, but in the back rooms… not standing out there at the front!"

"Not standing… At the front…" She echoed incredulously.

"Well, yeah, no, but… You know what I mean… I'm saying there's a difference…"

"What do you think I've been doing for the last two years, Josh?" She was getting angry now.

"Not Congress!" He yelled.

Her lips compressed into a thin line.

"You don't think I can do Congress?" She asked.

Before he could stop himself, the word just came out of his mouth.

"No!" He said, very forcefully. He was lost now. "Donna, you've been playing in a sandpit… this the big leagues, we're talking about. You can't handle that!"

Part of his brain was screaming at him to take it back, take it back now, but he didn't.

She glared at him.

"That's what you think of me." She said. "Sandpit?!"

"Donna, you're good at what you do. But it's not this!"

"How would you know?" She threw at him. "You've never come to see me speak."

"We agreed that I would stay out of it!" He shot back.

She looked at him scornfully.

"That meant for you not to come in and throw your political weight around, Joshua." She turned and walked back into the bedroom. "Not for you to never come see me."

He followed her.

"Why didn't you say anything about this before?" He asked. "If you wanted me to come, you could'a just asked me!"

"I shouldn't have needed to." She replied icily without looking at him. Then she started collecting up clothes. "I'm going to sleep… somewhere else!"

He tried to plead with her but she stalked out.

Josh paced his study the next day.

Donna running for Congress… Donna running for Congress… Donna running for Congress…

He stopped and pursed his lips. He'd had a tip that Peter Ives was the Republican most likely to stand. He'd dealt with Ives before. Ives would eat her alive. She couldn't fight him. His Donna was good, but not Ives good. Not up in front of a crowd, winning them over, winning an election, good. He didn't doubt that she could say the right thing on camera and in speeches to school boards but, proper speeches to packed halls in a race like this? She was smart but she was Donna… slight and adorable Donna. She wasn't a politician in this league.

He went over everything, again and again. Everything except the truth. He'd wanted to run. He'd wanted to run, and he was pissed at her because he couldn't bring himself to pull rank in the party to stop her, and to put himself in.

The next few days were hell. When they couldn't avoid each other, they'd end up yelling at each other instead. The same argument every time. He'd didn't think she could it, and she really wanted to. He never told her the truth.

Then one day,

"With or without you Josh." She declared. "I'm doing this."

She left the house with the kids, and didn't come back. Bonnie arrived that night to pick up suitcases for them.

"You are the biggest horse's ass I have ever had the misfortune to know!"

Josh had been balancing backwards precariously and so, disturbed, fell off his chair as the familiar voice boomed from the doorway to his study. He looked up to see Toby looking down at him. He held out a hand to help him up.

"Nice to see you too Toby." Josh replied, as he righted his chair. "What you doing here?"

"Physically kicking some sense into you if I have to!" Toby replied.

Josh settled himself back in his chair and gestured towards the small couch for Toby. He took the offer and sat down.

"Donna." Josh said simply.

"She didn't call me." He said. "CJ did. Told me to get myself over here and talk some sense into you before she had to come hit you with a mallet."

"A mallet's quite specific." Josh mused.

"You can probably guess where she said she'd put it." Toby replied.

Toby took in the state of his old friend. He looked a wreck. The hairline was still marching backwards, although it had paused in a good enough place, and it would have looked alright if the remaining hair wasn't going in every direction. His shirt was creased and untucked. He was unshaven. He looked like he hadn't slept in weeks.

"You're look awful." Toby told him.

"Tell me something I don't know." Josh sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Donna's a great politician." Toby replied without missing a beat.

Josh turned sharply to look at him.

"You think I don't know that." He said softly.

"If you know she is, why aren't you standing next to her right now?"

"It's complicated."

"Is it?" Toby asked. "Have you been to see her speak yet?"

"No." Josh sighed.

"I have." Josh's eyebrows rose. "You should." At the look on Josh's face he asked a very perceptive question. "Are you worried that she's at this better than you'd be?"

Josh turned the collar of his coat up to mask his face as he joined the crowd towards the back of the hall. The place was full, so it was easy for him to blend in and get lost in the sea of faces. The churning in his stomach got worse. It was a fundraiser, not a campaign speech, but she still had to stand up and impress them.

Suddenly it was all starting and Lou – hang on, she'd got Lou on board with this madness?! How'd the hell'd she convince Lou?! – came out to introduce her.

And then there she was. Her pale skin and blonde hair shone under the lights. Her dark blue skirt suit might have looked too severe on someone else but on her it was a beautiful counterpoint to her colouring. The pale pink satin blouse against her skin was perfect. She looked so small up there.

The crowd erupted around him. People were chanting her name as they waved their placards. He knew this wasn't the first of these that she'd done but he was still surprised. The buzz in the room was incredible.

Then she started speaking and he couldn't take his eyes off her. She was passionate but authoritative, informed but a little bit sassy, charming but serious. She told a joke and it went down a storm! He even relaxed enough to laugh along too.

He watched her as she stood casually, leaning on the podium, microphone in her hand, smiling and looking so relaxed up there. His mind flashed back, a million years it seemed, to a girl he didn't know yet, standing in his campaign 'office', just answering his phone as if she owned the place.

The woman on stage held up a hand to quieten the crowd she'd spent a while now revving up. Josh re-focused to the present.

She started seriously.

"British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, once, infamously, said 'there's no such thing as society'…"

"She was wrong!" Someone in the audience called out. There was laughter. Josh wondered if they were a plant.

"Actually she was sort of right." Donna mused with a subtle smile. Josh drew in a sharp breath.

"No!" Various members of the crowd yelled. Josh thought about joining in, even as he was worrying that she'd just lost them, but then she spoke again

"But only sort of." It was just a few extra words but everything about her smile, her tone and her posture seemed to be saying 'trust me, you'll like where I'm going with this'. Josh was both intrigued, and kinda turned on.

"Society isn't a given. Society is a choice that we make. A choice that we have to keep choosing to make. Doing away with the structures that form our government is an appealing notion. At its best it says 'don't tread on me', it says 'get the government out of my way, so I can make my own decisions." She paused. "It also says that anyone who can't make it on their own is just lazy; that they don't deserve help. That we're individuals first and last, and helping others, whose names we don't know, is none of our business. That's what it means to have no society."

She sighed with her whole body, dropping the hand holding the microphone to her side. Josh looked around amazed as the crowd sighed with her. Almost immediately, she brought the mic back to her lips.

"Society doesn't exist on its own. We choose to invent it." She said confidently and the buzz in the room lifted again.

"Hell yeah!" Someone shouted.

"We choose to care for others." She carried on. "We choose to educate our children. We choose to house the homeless. We choose to treat the sick; to provide for the disabled. We choose to be a caring society, and we choose to empower our government to implement that choice."

Every sentence was passionate and firmly spoken, punctuated by her left hand moving subtly but definitively. The buzz of the crowd rose higher with every beat.

She relaxed back against the podium again, relieving the tension of the moment.

"When I first went to work at the White House, I had no experience of what government was… apart filing my tax returns." She winced theatrically and the crowd laughed. "I had no idea what to expect. You know what I found?"

"Love." A young woman in the crowd yelled out. Someone wolf whistled.

Josh's eyes shot to Donna. He saw her look down, smile fondly, and his breath caught in his throat.

She looked back up and her eyes were shining.

"Yes." She said with such obvious emotion that he wanted to stick sharp objects into his eyes for ever hurting her. Or take CJ up on the mallet thing.

"What I found." Just like that she was back on track. "Was people. Just people, doing the job of governing," She paused. "But people just like everyone else, just like everyone here today. They weren't some monolith called 'government'. They lived; they had children, they got sick, they helped each other. They laughed, they cried, they argued…" She gestured towards the woman in the audience. "They loved." She smiled.

She walked around behind the podium. The room waited.

"Society exists because we, the people, choose to create it."

She didn't say it to the audience… she said it to the flag above her head. Then she looked over her shoulder at the crowd and smiled again; genuinely and charmingly.

They cheered her.

She replaced the mic on the podium's stand as if she was done, but then spoke into it again as if it was an afterthought, placing her hands on both sides of the podium and leaning forwards in a gesture that she made seem intimate and confessional.

"And if anyone thinks anything I've said tonight makes me sound like a Communist..."

Groans erupted from the crowd at the tired accusation they'd all heard so many times. Donna dropped her hands from the podium.

"Well…" She smiled a twisted smile. "Then we really do need to invest more in our society, to bring education back into our control, to take it back from the money men who have no belief in society..."

The hands went back onto the podium, commanding now, not intimate.

"Because, if there are people out there genuinely think my words today are anything like that discredited ideology of the past… then our education system simply isn't good enough!"

She stepped back. Josh couldn't believe he'd thought for a second she looked small. With the lights behind her, turning her hair into a halo, she looked to him like an avenging angel.

She was wrapping it up on a high, with the crowd in her pocket, but every muscle in Josh's body had frozen and all he could do was keep looking at her. She smiled and waved as the crowd went wild.

And so it happened that, for the third time in his life, Josh Lyman was hit by lightning.

"Oh shit." He whispered under his breath as it came to him just how wrong he'd been these past few weeks; years maybe. It was nothing to do with her. It was all him. How the hell was he going to be able to tell her – this incredible woman, who he'd so underestimated - how stupid he'd been.

Thing was though, even as one part of his brain was trying to work out how to apologise to the woman he loved, another part was racing off in a very different direction. Nineteen to the dozen, the politician in him was making plans, weighing possibilities, considering risks and spinning the first threads of a very different scenario to the one he'd been mulling for weeks.

Josh leant against his car in the parking lot of the bar. He'd phoned around and discovered that they'd come here after the fundraiser. He didn't dare go in, didn't want to approach her in a crowd, so he'd been stood out here for about two hours now.

It had given him plenty of time to think, and to watch her. The bar had big plate glass windows and he could see her, sitting there celebrating with Lou and Bonnie, and others he recognised and some he didn't. She'd built up quite a team. They'd all trusted in her. It seemed it was just him who hadn't. But at least he'd admitted to himself why that was. Idiotic though now it seemed.

After an age her and Lou got up and headed for the door. He stood up straight and moved from the shadows into the light so they would see him there.

The two women paused just outside the doorway and he realised from their faces that they'd known he was there. Maybe they'd even known for some time.

"I was at the fundraiser." He said sheepishly.

"Have you taken your head out of your ass now?" Lou asked with a heavy dose of sarcasm and a lot of rebuke.

"Can I please talk to Donna alone?" He asked, trying not to sound like he was pleading.

Lou looked at Donna, who nodded sharply. Lou gave her arm a supportive tap, cast him a pointed look and went back inside.

They just stood there staring at each other in the glow of the streetlights for a long moment.

Finally Josh took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry." He said and then smiled a little. "Have you ever considered running for President?"

Donna smiled her crooked smile.

"You only needed to apologise, Josh. There's no need for the smoke."

Seconds later they were crossing the distance between them; their mouths meeting in a hungry kiss. His hands wrapped around her, finding their way under her coat and pushing up her suit jacket so that only the thin material of her blouse separated him from her. Likewise, she clung to him, holding on tightly, threading fingers into his hair. It was only when his mouth moved from hers to trail kisses down her throat that she tried to push him away.

"Josh, I'm running for Congress, we probably shouldn't make out in a parking lot." She laughed. "Also," She said close to his ear when he didn't stop. "Everyone in the bar can see us!" He froze.

Josh lifted his head and looked over her shoulder towards the bar. There was her team all looking back at him. Some of them waved. There was cheering. Lou just shook her head in disbelief and made a gesture shooing them towards his car.

He went first and opened the passenger door for her but before she could get in he slammed it shut again and pushed her up against it.

"Screw it, I haven't kissed you in weeks, I don't care who's watching!" And he kissed her.

"I've missed you so much." He said right against her lips.

"I've missed you too." She replied between kisses.

Inside the bar, Lou put her head in her hands.

"World class political instincts folks." She announced as she gestured out the window. "Here we have a masterclass in what not to do during an election campaign."

"They are married." Graham chimed in.

"And that'll make the Al fresco porn appearing on the Internet tomorrow so much less newsworthy." She deadpanned back as she took a swig of her beer.

"Maybe we could spin it for family values voters." He replied with a philosophical shrug. "Meet the Lyman's! We can absolutely promise you'll only ever catch them having sex in public with each other!"

"Shall I get a bucket of ice water to throw over them?" Bonnie laughed.

"Keep it on standby, just in case." Lou replied lazily, but then sat up sharply as she saw a bar patron raise something towards the window. "Hey! Get that camera off him! Now!"

Back outside Josh and Donna were oblivious to everything but each other and still very passionately kissing against the car door.

"Let's never fight again." Josh declared.

"You started it." She replied. Those three words had the same effect the ice water would have.

Josh moved away and turned his back for a moment. Donna used the moment to compose herself too; straightening her skirt, smoothing her hair.

"It wasn't about you." He said, turning back. He looked devastated. He ran his hand through his hair. "It was about me."

She looked puzzled. "What?"

"You're so gonna hate me." He began, putting up a hand to stop her as she tried to speak. He drew a long breath. "I was gonna run." He finally said, softly.

"What?" She demanded flatly. Her face had frozen.

"I was gonna run." He repeated. "Here. I had a conversation with Will…"

She was too smart and she knew him too well. He saw the moment that she put two and two together.

"You son of a bitch." She said softly with more anger than he'd ever heard from her before.

"Donna…" He began.

She walked over to him and slapped him, hard.

"That's for letting me kiss you before you told me that!" She turned away in disgust. "Godammit Josh!"

"Something's changed." Graham mused, a little concerned, looking out the window.

"Stop watching them." Bonnie chastised him without looking up from her plate.

"No, look!" He said urgently.

Lou turned her head just in time to see Donna slap Josh. She sighed and slumped in her seat.

"This, right here, is why you should never owe anyone a favour." She mused darkly.

"Should we do something?" Bonnie asked, genuinely concerned.

Josh tried to reach out to her but she shrugged him off.

"Donna please let me explain..."

"Go… to hell." She bit back.

It was then that Lou came out of the bar.

"Well children, since you're insisting on making a spectacle of yourselves tonight, should I try to get you a pit of mud or jello..?" She took in the anger on Donna's face and the devastation of Josh's (and the harsh red mark on his cheek). "Okay, so you two really do need to do this now then. Right."

She cast around and spotted an alleyway behind the bar with a dead end and, thankfully, no overlooking doors or windows.

"In there." She ordered them. "Let's at least try and minimise the chances of photos. And keep your voices down." She ushered them in. Neither protested. She made to leave but then turned back. "If this is nuclear, like divorce-worthy," Both of them tensed at the word. "Then remember who you are and what you're doing here, and keep it civil." With that she was gone.

"Is this..?" He couldn't bring himself to say it. "What she said."

"I don't know." Donna sounded so tired all of a sudden.

"Will you let me explain?"

"What's to explain?" She straightened her spine and walked over to him. The look on her face was ugly, mocking. "Seems plain enough to me. You were going to run. Let me guess, step one to a Presidential run on a Josh Lyman Nine Point Plan." She snorted. "Except I jumped into the conversation first. Rather than discuss it with me, instead of us making a plan together, you saw me as a threat to your fantasyland where you're the only one who can save this country from itself. So you quickly convinced yourself that you didn't think I was good enough to actually win. But you couldn't let yourself say that me running would be a waste of an election, when it should be you up there, so you kept telling yourself - and me – that it was that you didn't want me to feel bad when I, inevitably, lost. Have I missed anything?"

He stared wide eyed at her.

"No… no..." He managed to splutter out. "That's pretty much it."

"And now you've changed your mind?" She rolled her eyes. "You don't want to run anymore?" She mocked.

"Yes!" He exclaimed earnestly. "Donna, it was exactly what you said. I let myself get wrapped in a idea without talking to you and then took it out on you when it went south in front of me." He crossed to her and lightly gripped her shoulders to get her to face him. "I'm sorry. I was wrong." He said sincerely. "About everything. I was wrong."

Her blatant anger faded and she looked as if she might soften, but she didn't. She looked sad but determined instead.

"You can't do this Josh." She complained. "They're nice words and I know how hard it is for you to say them, but you can't do this to me and then just expect that I'll smile and trust you again."

"I don't." He cut in. "Let me prove it to you instead."

"How?" She asked sceptically, but he'd got her interest.

He let go of her shoulders, walked a small distance away, bounced on his toes a little and turned back. He smiled.

"You really were amazing up there tonight." He said with every bit of sincerity in him. "You had them eating out of your hand."

"Really? You think so?" She turned a little bashful, but then sceptical again."You're not just saying that to get back on my good side?"

He walked towards her shaking his head.

"Although, if you want notes..?" He offered.

"From you, always."

"I hope your stump speech focuses more on local issues. It was a bit, generic…"

"I was rallying my base." She cut in, smiling. "Ives has jumped on the Tea Party bus and he's been attacking my government connections pretty hard. So I've been owning them. I won't apologise for having worked at the White House. My people need a positive narrative of government so they can fight back without going negative. The bitterness between the parties is toxic. It's turning undecided voters off of all of us." She shrugged. "I've been trying to give them some words. You know, make them proud they're fighting for something, not just fighting against things all the time."

He was smiling.

"Anything else?" She asked, still smiling too.

"Yeah," He paused. "You might wanna stick a pin or something in your top there." He gestured on himself to a spot in the middle of his chest. She looked down, frowned and looked back up. "While you're proudly declaring that you're not a communist, half the room isn't listening because they can see straight down there…"

"Josh!" She exclaimed.

"Just saying, that bit's sexy enough already, you don't to be have to be flashing the room while you do it."

"Sexy?" She asked, a little coyly.

"You know it." He grinned.

"You sure this isn't just a you finding it sexy thing?" She asked.

"You think I find things sexy that others don't?!"

"I'm saying you have a politics fetish, Josh."

"I do not!"

She walked - stalked – over towards him, but instead of stopping in front of him she moved to his right and walked around behind him. Without touching him, she leant forward to whisper in his ear. He froze, every sense fully on her.

"Battleground states." She said breathily.

Then she walked, slowly, still not touching him, around to his left side. She leant in and whispered again.

"Exit polls." She breathed. "Unpledged elector." Another breath. "Presumptive nominee."

He grabbed her arm and turned to lock eyes with her.

"It's not a politics fetish." He told her, his voice a little ragged. "It's a Donatella-saying-words fetish."

He leant in to kiss her but she broke out of his grasp and moved away. She kept her back to him for a long moment. Finally she turned back.

"So you're saying I should tone down the sexiness?" She was all business. "On stage." She added quickly. Not so much business.

"I'd be happier if you could. Of course this isn't your new political adviser talking now, this is your husband, and, given his boneheaded lack of judgement lately maybe we shouldn't listen to THAT guy for a while…"

"Josh," She said seriously. "You can't just come in here and take over the show."

"Okay." He agreed. "But, you mind if I run my new plan past you?"

"What plan?" It came out a little bit wary.

He pointed squarely at her with both hands.

"Me?" She frowned. "I'm the plan?!"

He nodded slowly, his smile broadening.

"Donna, you really were good, are good, and the last time I heard someone that good… I quit a pretty good job at the White House to spend months - many months(!) - living in hotels." He winced. "Sometimes in my car."

She started to stare at him, horrified, at around about this point. He smiled at the picture her face made right now. Total Kodak moment he wanted to keep forever.

"And we know how that story ended." He finished.

There was a long pause while she looked at him with that stunned expression on her face.

Then…

"You're not serious!" She exclaimed incredulously. "You can't possibly be serious!" She froze and then looked at him suspiciously. "Are you saying this just to get me to take you back..? 'Cause…"

"Donna, it's ME talking here. You think I'd say any of this is if I was anything BUT serious?!"

She gaped at him, like a fish, like a fish whose husband was implying he wanted her to run for President!

"You're crazy! You've gone insane Josh!" She turned away and flailed. She started walking out of the alley. "You've lost your mind! We have get to you help Joshua… Because this is, just…"

He followed her.

"You haven't said no yet." He was still smiling. She'd called him Joshua in that certain little tone. He so had her.

She stopped and turned to face him.

"You are…" She was lost for words. "Noodle doodle!"

"I'm what?!" He grinned.

"Uh oh." It was Bonnie who spotted them coming back into the parking lot.

"What?" Lou asked through a mouthful of burger.

"They're back."

"I can't believe this is happening! I don't see you in weeks and then you come here and… Uh…"

She was pacing now, just a short way, back and forth, a wired up ball of frantic energy. Josh stood just outside the alleyway watching, the smile never leaving his face. He was giving her time.

She stopped suddenly and faced him. Her eyes were like saucers.

"Oh my god. When I came out here you said…" He nodded. "I thought you were being silly…" He shook his head. "You were serious."

He nodded some more. He was really enjoying this.

"Donatella Lyman, have you… ever… thought… about running for President?" He grinned.

Donna started pacing again.

"What on earth are they doing now?" Graham asked.

"It doesn't look like making up…" Bonnie replied. "…but it doesn't like breaking up either."

"Whatever it is." Lou added. "I'd call it trouble." She took a look at her watch. "Hey, can someone put that TV on? Daily Show should be starting."

"Oh yes! It's been so good lately." Bonnie exclaimed. "Who knew Toby would find his niche in comedy writing?"

"He just likes it because he can have a go at everyone." Lou replied.

"You still haven't said no." Josh teasingly pointed out again.

She stopped and crossed to him. There was genuine panic in her eyes.

"That's because it's… It's…"

"Noodle doodle..?" He offered, grinning.

She threw her hands up and walked off. He followed.

"You're thinking about it!" He called, sing-song, after her. "Aren't you?"

She stopped walking abruptly and he caught up with her, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"You're thinking about it." He whispered into her ear, tempting like the devil himself.

She sighed deeply.

"I'm the girl who put her hand up to ask a question… in the Oval Office!" She lamented, her tone sounding most like disbelieving despair.

Josh exhaled a breath he hadn't known he was holding and turned her around in his arms.

"And, as adorable as that visual still is, that was a very long time ago. You're not a girl Donna." He told her sincerely. "You're a smart, compassionate, extremely capable woman." He paused. "And I think you can do this."

He smiled reassuringly.

"You don't have to be ready right this moment. You don't even have to be ready this month, or this year." He smiled wryly. "We do have to get you elected HERE first, but after that we have plenty of time. We can work on making you ready, together."

She opened her mouth to speak but he put a finger on her lips.

"I don't want you to think I'm pressuring you into this. I don't want to actually pressure you into this. If you don't want to do it - not don't think you can do it - if you don't even want to try… Then, say no to me now. Just one word, and I'll never mention it again. I won't think any less of you. We'll get you elected here and that'll be it. You'll be amazing in Congress."

He let go of her.

"But you've come this far… could you, want to go all the way..? Right to the top?" He asked in total seriousness. "Cause if you do, then…."

Their eyes met and held for a long moment. He forced himself to stay passive this time, do no more, whilst her eyes still held that panicked look.

She exhaled deeply and turned away, putting her hand to her mouth. He gave her a moment before asking.

"Donna...?"

"Yes." She said very softly.

"Yes what?" He asked hopefully, his heart started beating faster. The hand dropped from her mouth.

"Yes." She replied, turning back. The panic was gone. There was a different emotion in her eyes. He wouldn't quite read it.

"You want it?" He asked again, checking he was sure what she saying.

"Yes." She smiled. She sounded breathless now.

"Say it." He challenged as he moved closer.

"I want it." She replied and it was sexiest thing he'd ever seen.

"Say it." He coaxed one more time, his tone dropping to a rasp. He moved closer still, till they were only inches apart.

She looked up at him. Her eyes were alive with excitement now but her words were crystal clear confident and totally serious.

"I want to be President." Then the seriousness broke and she laughed. "Oh my god, Josh!" She laughed again, and it was a mixture of excitement and incredulous revelation. Then it was gone and, as if it was if it was the most normal, simple statement she'd ever made. "I want to be President someday."

This time he didn't grin, he simply kissed her.

"Okay, now he's jumping her bones again!" Graham relayed. "He's pretty good, you know, considering his age…"

Bonnie looked away from the TV to give the young man a hard stare. She looked back.

"These two are gonna be the death of me." Lou rubbed her neck. "I have a real job… what am I doing here..!"

"We here," Bonnie said seriously, with her eyes still on the TV. "Because Donna's the real deal." Lou turned to look at her and Bonnie met her gaze. "And we want her to win."

"There is that." Lou agreed, and smiled.

Josh suddenly let her go.

"Oh!" He exclaimed. He gestured wildly.

"What?" Donna asked, laughing and now feeling slightly giddy.

"Something I should have started with!" He exclaimed again but then smiled at her. "Leo would've loved this..."

With that he went running towards the bar, leaving Donna amused and confused.

Josh burst through the door, went straight to the bar and grabbed something.

Everyone stared at him as he began patting his pockets. He turned to them frantically.

"A pen?" He yelled so loudly that Donna outside could hear him. "Does anyone have a pen?"

Bonnie produced one and handed it over.

He nodded his thanks and went to a table away from everyone. There he confidently wrote something down, smiled at it, before pausing and adding something else that made him grin again. He underlined it with a flourish.

Standing up, he tossed the pen back at Bonnie, still with that huge grin. He turned to Lou and visibly sobered.

"Thank you," He said sincerely. "For, being here for her."

He looked up over at the rest of them, taking in the scene. There was a dozen people, sitting and standing. Her team. He tried to make brief eye contact with each one as he looked around.

"Thank you." He said. "All of you. You're doing a great job."

He nodded firmly and took off back outside.

There was suddenly noise as everyone smiled, laughed and started talking enthusiastically.

Bonnie looked at Lou and saw she was just standing there looking into thin air.

"You okay?" She asked.

"Josh Lyman just said thank you."

Josh strutted confidently across the parking lot back towards Donna.

She watched him, smiling, but rather bemused.

Grinning, he held up a white paper napkin.

Scrawled across the centre it read "Lyman for America", above that he'd written his addition in big letters, underlined, "Donna".


End file.
